


Mysteries of the Boiling Tower

by MaskedMaverick



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Boiling Tower AU, F/F, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, If this continues Ill add more tags, Mention of alcohol, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Slice of Life, Tags Are Hard, This is a one shot... for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29630376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedMaverick/pseuds/MaskedMaverick
Summary: Life for the Noceda's has not been easy, with school and personal problems tormenting them all the time, perhaps a change of environment is what they need to be a happy family again. But what happens when the place you move to is not only one of the most important in the country, but one of the strangest and mysterious? Camila, Lucia, Luz, and Lucille will face this with their heads held high, because the Noceda's do not give in to anything while they are together.
Relationships: Amelia Blight/Lucia Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Mysteries of the Boiling Tower

**Author's Note:**

> *Pokes his head in the corner* Hey... I know it's been a long time and I haven't shown any signs of life around here, but you can believe me that it wasn't because I was procrastinating, at least not most of the time. Anyway, I am very sorry if you expected quick updates like the first 4 chapters of Digimon AU, which speaking of that I have renamed to something much shorter and easier to remember. I am deviating from the topic, I have written this One-Shot as an experiment to see how I manage in a calmer and urban environment and with couples having more importance from the beginning, if this goes well and I feel confident it will become an independent series instead of limiting to a single One-Shot. I hope you enjoy it.  
> I also warn you that I continue to use a translator to post this in English, so I apologize if I continue to have errors.

To this day, in the relatively modern metropolis of Bonesborough there are few buildings that predated the '68 reforms, and the oldest and most emblematic of all is definitely the known as The Boiling Tower. The Boiling Tower had more than 50 years since its foundation and even with that was kept in an impeccable state for almost all its history, counting with the most advanced heating technology until the moment of its construction and for what the press articles assured was even advanced for the present age. Therefore, for Camila Noceda it was quite a surprise that her eldest daughter told her that they had the opportunity to have a good apartment large enough for her and her 3 daughters to be comfortable in that same building.

"I know someone" was all she answered when the single mother questioned back, and for the moment she decided it was enough. Things were not very good for them really, Lucia, with 21 years, always went out at night and came back with bruises that she tried to hide without success, night jobs she called them, they helped pay the bills, but she still was worried about its mysterious nature. Her next daughter, Luz, 15 years old, was not exactly having a good time either, until recently Camila found out that she was basically socially excluded from all social activities by her classmates and her teachers did nothing about it, the worst thing is that it was necessary that her youngest daughter, Lucille, 13 years old, decided to break the silence and tell her mother and older sister everything, and yet it took months of therapy for Luz to open up again with them about her problems.

It is the opportunity for a new beginning, was what she told her two youngest daughters after Lucia told her about the apartment in Bonesborough, and to the surprise of no one they were both more than in agreement with leaving everything in that city that saw them grow up and move to a fresh start. Furthermore, fortunately for Camila one of Bonesborough new hospitals was looking for staff and she fulfilled the necessary qualities more than perfectly.

With everything decided, it only took a few of paperwork to get her daughters out of the local school and sell the house in which they had spent their whole lives together, that construction had a tremendous emotional value for the four, but it mattered little because if they were together, they would always be at home.

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The gigantic building that rose before them had nothing to envy to the skyscrapers in cities like New York, The Boiling Tower seemed an appropriate name considering the large number of vapors that escaped from different pipes that surrounded the structure. They are totally safe for the inhabitants, was what all the articles said every time this was questioned, and since being here it was too late to change my mind. The four of them walked together towards the entrance, with Lucia to the front and Camila behind taking care of the younger Nocedas and were greeted by a huge metal door that seemed impossible for an ordinary person to move.

"Password" Said a voice that the Nocedas could describe as a Micky Mouse with a throat disease and turning to the side they could see that there was a small room with a large window from which the head of a man of an unknown age but who looked much older than the matriarch Noceda was poking out. His huge mustache gave him a somewhat funny appearance.

"Excuse me?" Said the Latin woman while she tried to reason the situation.

"No one can get through without the password" The man replied kindly.

"T... There is a pass-"

"Hooty!" The firm voice of a girl interrupted the moment "We have already told you several times, the password days are long over." A teenage girl of about Luz's age stood on the other side of the transparent glass that decorated the door. She had a somewhat robust composition, although her round face gave her a friendly appearance that highlighted its Asian features, her black hair came down to her shoulders and gracefully covered her forehead and part of her large glasses. When she saw that the man still did not respond, she decided better to play the game "Tea Party" she said accompanied by a small sigh.

"Hooty Hoot Hoot! That's the today’s password! Don't forget it!" it was possible to hear how a lever was being operated inside the room and immediately the huge door began to move, ending up opening just an instant later "Have a good time, neighbors!" With that said, Hooty's head disappeared through the window and the window closed.

The few seconds of awkward silence that followed were thankfully broken by Luz. "Thank you so much for the help!" The Latina said with a big smile and offering her hand "I’m Luz".

"Willow" The other girl replied, still showing a smile as she shook hands with the newcomer "I guess you are the Nocedas, aren't you?" Before anyone could ask, Willow continued "My older sister told me that you would come and she asked me to wait for you at the door, but you apparently arrived a little earlier than she expected."

"No es cierto" Lucia interrupted, taking a step forward "Are you Salix's little sister?!" Until now the young adult had not realized the great resemblance they had, it could be because she had only seen a few photographs of the infamous Salix Park, and in them all the qualities that made Willow see as someone kind gave the opposite effect. Thinking about it like that it was indeed somewhat surprising that two such similar sisters gave such disparate impressions.

"The same" Willow replied with a somewhat uncomfortable smile "I'm sorry you had to deal with Hooty's peculiar attitudes, he has been the security guard for years and he really does a good job, it's just a little ..." The girl paused for a moment to think of an appropriate word.

"Eccentric?" The youngest of the Nocedas said, leaning out to see that window where the doorman had leaned out.

"Yes, exactly that" Willow turned around, and began to walk, the Nocedas without much idea of what to do decided unanimously to follow her "I suppose you will want to wait for your things before going up to your new apartment, if you want you can wait in the garden and rest a little”.

The main floor of the building looked like the reception of a 4-star hotel, a reception without workers but it was also extremely clean and illuminated both by a large window overlooking the main street and by a large chandelier that seemed to be taken from some book of fantasy that the two youngest Nocedas could not help but admire. Camila for her part could not help but see the large number of paintings and pictures of celebrities who had lived or visited the building that decorated the walls of the place, and on the wall farthest from the entrance, right over a large fireplace as fanciful as the chandelier, there was a huge portrait of the owner and founder of the building, as well as the most important man in Bonesborough and probably one of the most important men in the world today, Dragomir Belos in his glorious youth.

On her side, Lucia was looking at one of the most recent photographs, a family, a great family from what she saw; two adults who surely were the parents in the center, and next to her two pairs of identical twins of different ages and in front 3 daughters who at the time the photo was taken did not seem older than their little sister Luz. Something curious is that apparently most of the members of that family were blond although the father had dark brown hair.

"Those are the Blight’s" said a new voice that took the entire group by surprise, even Willow, who knew her very well, couldn't help but be startled a little by how sudden it was to hear her "It's good to see that you managed to get here well, Noceda" Another girl appeared in front of the stairs that connected the floors, by their facial similarities and the hair of the same shade of black it was obvious that it was Willow's older sister, but those similarities ended there. Salix was noticeably stockier, almost as tall as Lucia, but with a much more menacing aura, her huge yellow trench coat gave her a certain aura of mystery as if she were a private detective like the ones in the Noir novels and movies.

Lucia approached slowly, they both looked into each other's eyes in what seemed like an eternal competition to see which of the two imposed more. The tense atmosphere that had formed in the room was broken when the oldest of the Noceda sisters let out a playful snort and continued to laugh as she hadn’t done in a long time, Salix stared at her with a small smile drawn on her lips before shaking her head and joining in the laughs. "Mom, this is Salix Park, we met a year ago and since then we have been good friends.” Lucia mentioned as she put her arm around Salix in a playful way.

"I was in town for a job, this hard head helped me and since then it stuck to me like a tick" Although her words sounded somewhat offensive, the big smile on her face denoted her playful intentions, she was free from the grip of the higher and walk to the group "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Noceda" he offered his hand cordially.

"Emm... The pleasure is mine" The Latina mother already had too many questions with only being there for around 10 minutes, the main one was if she could still recover her prepayment and get another apartment nearby. Still, she warmly shook hands with the young adult in front of her for a cordial greeting.

The two young adults chatted in the main room, while Willow led the rest through an exit to the side of the stairs and into the backyard. For a modern, industrialized city, Bonesborough still maintained many green areas and parks that made the air not difficult to breathe for a family that had lived in the suburbs all their lives like the Noceda’s. The definition of a garden for what was in the back of the tower was more than anything a cordiality, because more than anything it was a huge park with large steel fences that separated it from the sidewalk. According to Willow, on the other side there was another door in the garden that was previously used to allow non-inhabitants access to it, but it had been closed for a long time and no one went to that area anymore.

For someone who had grown up surrounded by a forest in which to play as Luz Noceda was, the view in front of her was welcoming, she felt within her an enormous desire to run off to explore the surroundings, climb the branches and see everything from the heights as she would have in her old house, but before that she turned to see her mother. Camila knew her daughter very well to be attentive to her asking for her approval to run away and seeing her full of emotion in the eyes was impossible not to respond with a positive nod.

On her side, Lucille was already exploring the building surroundings, of the three sisters she was the one who had “the feet on the ground” as her teachers used to say. After a few minutes she saw something that caught her attention immediately, something like the exterior entrance of a basement that looked rusty and had been in disuse for decades, it was logical that the famous Boiling Tower would have a basement, because nowhere else could they put that famous boiler system. Next to this entrance there were small slits that if she was correct led directly to the basement, "Curiosity has never hurt anyone, has it?" she thought before bending down to try to look or listen. It took her a few seconds to isolate the sounds from outside, but little by little she was able to focus on the slight sound of pipes, liquids and gases moving through them, and to her surprise, something like a heavy breathing.

"You shouldn't get that close" the sudden voice behind her surprised Lucille in such a way that she jumped like a scared cat ready to run away, but when she turned around, she saw a boy of about the same age in front of her. He had dark skin and short curly black hair and was dressed as if he was ready for a business meeting, a little giggle escaped him when he saw the reaction he had provoked. “This entrance to the boilers is closed since the accident of the 70s” he said pulling out a small notepad from his pocket to confirm that the information was correct.

This time it was Lucille who let out a small chuckle at the peculiar attitude of this boy "Thanks for the information, my name is Lucille, and you are?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself first." Quickly the boy put the notebook away and placed himself in a more relaxed position "My name is Augustus, but you can call me-

"Gus!" Willow's voice interrupted them, they both turned to see her come running along with Luz, both seemed to have been running through the trees as they smiled while taking a little air. When they arrived in front of them, Willow stopped to take a more air. "First of all... remind me to add... more training to my routine ... and not just weightlifting," she sighed.

Gus quickly took out a notebook from his pocket again, but this one was different from the previous one and with it he had a pencil with which Gus quickly wrote down what Willow said, "Written down".

Once she got her breath back, Willow continued "Second, I thought that today you would be all day at the station with your father, I am not complaining, but if I had known that you would be here, I would have looked for you to wait at the door together”.

"Well, about that, my father will be sent to cover some news to the neighboring city, so we returned early so he could get his stuff and leave everything ready so that I can stay alone, and he leave in a few hours." The young man explained without changing his expression or worry in any way, this came as a surprise to the two sisters who didn’t expect someone so young to be left alone in home.

"Gus, these are Luz and Lucille Noceda, they are our new neighbors, and they live here together with their older sister and their mother" That said, Willow turned around and faced her friend "Girls, this is Gus Porter, maybe you heard about his father, Perry Porter”.

"Perry Danger Porter?!" Both exclaimed in surprise.

"The same" Gus said with a smile full of pride "As my dad always says, if you are going to face danger, you must know it well and have appropriate rules to do it" With that said, he took out the notebook that Lucille had first seen and he began to look at it "For this reason, as the president of the Association of Mysteries of the Boiling Tower, it is my duty to know all the facts that surround this building."

Their eyes lit up in the same way, but for different reasons.

"They have a club ?!"

"Mysteries ?!"

"Incompetentes hijos de P-

Three things were heard almost at the same time, the last one was the eldest of the Noceda sisters who was apparently arguing with someone on the phone. Fortunately, both Willow and Luz seemed to recognize the magnitude of the words that were approaching so they ran to cover the ears of the minors present.

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To say that this was an apartment, as with the garden, was a cordiality, since the Noceda's new home was as large as a one-story house occupying an entire section of the fifth floor. Camila really didn't expect that each one of them could have her own room instead of having to share as they had since the family had more than 3 members. "The administrator owed me a favor, a big one, so I convinced her to give you a discount on the rent" was what Salix said when she was asked how she got them such a place.

"Never owe Salix a favor" Is what Lucia said immediately after "And that's why I work with her now, it was our agreement." And before Camila could understand what they meant by work "Night jobs" was what they both answered at the same time. Another thing on the list of questions that would ask later because at this moment they had a more important situation.

For now, the only things they had besides their suitcases was some old furniture left by the former tenants because the moving truck with their belongings got lost and went to the neighboring city instead. "How do you miss a giant 'Bonesborough' sign in the middle of the road and keep going?" was what the three of them thought about the situation.

For their part, the youngest were visiting the different empty rooms in the new Noceda residence. Gus had already gone to change and was now wearing a much more casual outfit, Willow had gone to her home to say something to her dads, but she promised to return as soon as she could. "According to the records, this floor was previously occupied by a family of 3, the" the young man gave a quick review of his notes "Lunis, it is said one day simply disappeared without a trace, some neighbors said they were aliens from a planet far away trying to adapt to our civilization”.

"Or maybe, they just moved in without telling anyone" Lucille said with a small smile at the enthusiasm of the young man, not that she was a killjoy but that she liked having all possibilities covered.

"Or that too, but that's the beauty of mysteries, you never really know what happened and until you discover it, the possibilities are endless".

“So this place is full of strange and unknown things? That’s amazing! " Luz was genuinely excited, when they agreed to move although she was expecting a fresh start, arriving in such an interesting place was a pleasant surprise.

"Indeed, we have several mysteries throughout the tower" Now taking out a third notebook, Gus began to name for minutes several of the mysteries that he had accumulated since he lived in The Boiling Tower, which was basically his entire life "... The midnight demon, the eye that wanders through the 9th floor, the dancer from the abandoned apartment, the lights that go through all the floors at exactly one in the morning and of course, The Owl Lady”

"The owl lady?" both sisters said in unison, of all the names that Gus had given, the last one was the one that caught their attention because of the importance that the young man had placed on it.

“The Lady Owl is the mystery that has had the most sightings, especially the neighbors on the second and third floors have said they heard her, and some say they have seen her. According to witnesses, the owl lady lives in the basement of the tower, confined to the boiler room by her sister, the administrator Lilith.” Lucille listened attentively to those words, not only because she thought that a sister could do something so horrible to another, but because she had indeed heard a breath when she sniffed through the cracks in the basement. Gus continued with the story "The witnesses say that she escapes at night, and she dwells on the main floor until the early hours of the morning, that's why they call her the Owl Lady."

"For that and because while walking, you can hear a hoot" a new voice interrupted, startling the three again.

"Could you people stop wanting to give me a heart attack for today?" Luz said in a tone between joking and serious. Willow had already returned and was apparently bringing someone with her.

"I'm sorry for the delay, but my dad’s asked me to take care of her while one went to the weekly neighborhood meeting and the other to work", turning to look behind her, she gave a little touch to the girl who was hiding behind her, glancing to the group of teenagers before finally stepping to the side to reveal herself completely "This is Wionna, my little sister" a girl very much like Willow raised her hand animatedly, her face was a little more rounded from the fact that being younger and like her two sisters she had large glasses on her face, she wore a huge light brown coat dirty and battered by time, from its pockets some things protruded like garbage and old leaves of the garden trees, her hair was totally black and was wildly untidy, the most striking thing were her huge yellow boots that almost reached her knee.

"I am Wionna, nice to meet you both!" the girl ran to shake both sisters’ hands with such force that she left them shaking for a few seconds. The eldest of the Noceda sisters entered along with the eldest of the Park before they could respond.

"Muy bien pulgas, the moving fools will arrive at midnight so Salix and I will wait for them on the main floor, Mom has to go yes or yes to her job introduction in the hospital and to her bad luck they can only give it to her in the night shift so you will be on your own, Luz, Lucille" She pointed to both when they were about to say something about it "I will trust that you and your new friends club will not burn this place until it is time to sleep, don't do anything that mom wouldn't approve."

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On her way to the main floor, Lucia was looking little by little at all the floors through which they passed, she had decided to take the stairs because she was tired of being still all the way there on the car. As they passed through the intersection of the second floor, the Latina noticed something "Where is the entrance to the first floor?" Where the access to the floor should be was only an empty wall.

"Nobody can access the first floor, neither by stairs nor by using the elevator, it has been like that since Belos built this place" Salix replied with a disinterested grin, she had lived in this building for so long that questions like that no longer interested her.

"Why do you add a floor that no one can enter?" Lucia and her companion continued their way to the main floor and when she was there, she noticed the sound of an elevator moving, she wouldn’t give it importance if it hadn’t been because from there, she could see that the elevator was parked on the main floor "What's that?".

"Oh, that’s the Penthouse elevator."

"There’s a Penthouse here?!" Maybe I should have read the stupid pamphlet Mami offered me, she thought as she walked to the garden gate to try to catch a glimpse of the roof of the building. Even though the height made it very difficult, she managed to notice that there was an additional construction right at the top.

"Wow, when you said that reading was not your thing you were serious" Salix let out a sarcastic laugh "That's where the rich men and Belos’ associates who decide that just being economically and socially above other people is not enough live" Lucia could not help laugh at that allegory "At this moment those who occupy that place are the ones you were seeing in that photo, the Blight’s."

Being back inside, Salix went directly to sit on one of the huge armchairs in front of the large fireplace, for her part Lucia looked around again and finally identified an automatic door that would surely be the penthouse elevator, given its elegant frame by which Only a few people would fit, unlike the main elevator, which was more spacious. But besides that, she realized something else "You said that nobody can access the first floor, right?".

"That's right, I've been here my whole life and I've never found an access"

"So what is that?" Before Salix could ask back, Lucia signaled him for silence and pointed over her head. The oldest of the Park didn’t use to spend much time in the main room and when she did, it was accompanied by at least one of her sisters or dad’s, now with total silence for the first time she could notice the sound of light footsteps that came from the inaccessible floor.

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Luz was alone in what would be her room as soon as her moving things arrived, she carefully looked at the empty room except for the sleeping bag in the center that would be her resting place that night. She closed her eyes to imagine how she would decorate everything and how she would have so much fun with her new friends, her friends. Luz stopped to think about that word a bit. Willow, Wionna and Gus were her friends now, right? The first friends in who knows how long. Opening her eyes with some fear and insecurity in them, she took her phone out of her pocket and stared at it for a few seconds before dialing a specific number.

"Hello?" a woman's low and slightly husky voice answered after a few minutes.

"Yes! Doctor Host?! " Luz spoke perhaps a little louder than she expected, the combination of fear and emotion doing that to her, it was the first time she had spoken with her therapist since she had told her that they would move, and instead of being upset she offered her phone number to keep contact if necessary "I'm sorry I think I spoke too loud" the Latina laughed a little trying to let her nerves out.

"It's okay, Tesoro" the woman replied with a kind voice "I will assume that you’ve already reached your destination safely, I am happy about that."

“Yes, about that, it's a funny story, but indeed we are already in Bonesborough” Luz took a second to breathe and finally decided to speak “You see, I was calling because we met some children about my age shortly after we arrived, it's not something bad or anything" She clarify before continuing "They are very kind, and they have told us a lot about this place and... it's just..."

"Take your time, don't push yourself" the woman said even with a kind and patient tone after a few seconds of silence.

"It's just that ... I don't know how to feel about it, I want to consider them my friends, I feel that we are already friends despite interacting less than a day and deep down I feel that I am wrong, and that they will go away as soon as they see how I am really.” The Latina finished speaking, some tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

"Tesoro, if they see how you really are then they will meet an incredibly loving and attentive person, I know you have that fear within you that things will repeat themselves, but if you let that limit you, you will never be able to heal those wounds. Do you remember the mantra I tell you?"

“I deserve to be loved and appreciated no matter what others tell me” Luz said in a low voice, but allowing herself to feel that it was true, there was something in her therapist's voice that made her feel more confident in herself, she took another breath of air and push back those tears that were about to fall to repeat her mantra this time a little louder.

After repeating it a few times alone and others more with the company of the woman on the phone, the Latina finally felt at peace "Thank you so much, Doctor Host" she said, leaning against the wall, feeling lighter again.

"You can call me Mezzanotte, Tesoro, for me it is a pleasure to help you if you need it." The two continued talking for a couple more minutes, before Luz had to hang up to get ready, as she, Lucille, and her new friends were going on a quick tour of the tower floors. Friends, Luz really loved that word.

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The Noceda’s never expected that among all the things that this building would have within it would include a restaurant, or to be precise, access to a restaurant that was supposed to be an independent business located within the land. "Are you sure this is not really a luxury hotel?" Lucille asked playfully and the 5 teenagers laughed lightly. The sunlight was no longer visible in the street and the automatic lights in the corridors began to activate, so the group decided that it was a good time to look for something to eat, and luckily it turned out that one of the Mr. Park was the head cook at that restaurant and he would serve them something on the house.

"It's always good to see my little sprouts make more and more friends" said the huge, bearded black man as he served each of them the dish of the day, and as he passed with his daughters, gave each one a kiss on the forehead. Although they both protested at the same time with a "Dad!", they did so with a big smile and got up to give him a kiss on both cheeks before he went laughing back to the kitchen.

The dish was delicious, Luz had decided that as soon as Camila returned home, she would tell her about this place, probably coming to breakfast the next day together with Lucia. "So are we going to do something about the situation tonight?" Lucille interrupted the silence that had formed while they ate, everyone looked at her expectantly that she would continue because they did not seem to have any idea that she was speaking. "Well, you said that at night the Owl Lady comes out of the basement and hangs around the main floor, isn't it?" Gus nodded "Well it is the perfect day to check if the legend is true, if nothing happens then we will be fine, and if something happens, we will have Lucia and Salix a scream away." Curiosity had been eating at Lucille's head since Gus told them the story, not that Luz wasn't as interested, but she hadn't heard that breathing in the basement.

"Wow, every day that passes you are more and more like Lucia and me, we knew that after all you were a Noceda" Luz joked causing the 5 to laugh at each other again.

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Lucia had her head pressed against the wall that was supposed to connect to the first floor, she was sure that she had heard footsteps coming from there and she was willing to find out how it was possible, even if she had to take down that wall with her bare hands. Salix was behind her sitting on the stairs, for the first time in years something in that old building was drawing her attention again, however, she preferred to avoid fatigue and that her new associate better do the dirty work.

Just when Lucia was about to put her idea of throwing down the wall into practice, she could faintly hear how there was movement on the other side, only that it seemed to be going in a specific direction, and the sound of the Penthouse elevator just confirmed her suspicions. The Latina ran back to the main floor, Salix let out a tired sigh and got up to go after her at a slower pace. Once they were down, they could see that indeed that elevator was reaching that destination.

When the automatic doors opened, they revealed a slender female figure, not quite as tall as Lucia but very fit, she was not very tall, probably half a foot taller than Luz, but still shorter than Salix, however, her disdain emerald mane and piercing eyes of the same color gave her an aura of a lurking predator. "Oh, look at that, of all the options we could had to know that happens on the first floor, we had to touch the lioness of the Blight house" Salix muttered.

"Blight?" Lucia turned to where the paintings that she saw earlier were, she couldn’t recognize this woman in it, but guided by the color of her eyes she managed to reduce it to only two possible candidates, one was too tall even though the photo seemed to be a couple of years old, so… "It can't be."

The painting showed one of those trophy girls that appear in the scholar series that her younger sisters watch so much, a blonde with hair cut to her shoulders and gathered by ribbons, with green eyes full of determination to be the queen of the school dance and smiling as if daddy and mommy had bought her fifth pony, and with a gold trophy of some sport in hands. The woman in front of them did not have a trace of it, her green hair reached below her shoulders and she had a small ponytail gathering it backwards which revealed a crown of brown roots surrounding her forehead, her eyes seemed those of someone who would not hesitate to commit murder at the slightest provocation knowing that it would get away with it, and on her face had a perpetual grimace of being tired of life, in her perfectly manicured hands she carried a phone which she looked disinterestedly, until she looked up and realized that it was being watched. "Uugh, of all the times I chose to go down it had to be one when I met you Park." She complained, putting the phone in one of the pockets of her pink skirt.

"It's good to see that you're still a bitch with everyone, Amelia" Despite the heavy atmosphere that surrounded them, Salix was smiling from ear to ear.

The young woman made an angry gesture when she heard her so casually talking, letting out a snort, she turned to see Lucia “And who is this? Did you finally get someone else to do your dirty work for you? " Lucia was about to answer, but Amelia interrupted her "Oh like I care, anyway, I have better things to do than waste time with you." That said, she steps between the two almost pushing them to one side with her shoulders.

Lucia was silent for a second, not because she did not have to say, on the contrary, trying to choose the correct words to express the anger she was feeling, she hated people like that, people who believed themselves so important as to see less to everyone around them, finally the volcano exploded. "Hey! Gringa! " Lucia abruptly turned to look at the Blight girl who, faced with such a nickname, turned to face her again, but she didn't have time to do so because the Latina was already one step away from her. “I don't care who you are or how rich your family is, I don't care what you have to do but I'm going to make something clear" she leaned a little to see her directly in the eyes, green against brown, brown against green "You are no more than me, you are no more than Salix, you are no more than anyone here, and you better not mess with me, my friend or my family or you and I will have problems. Do you understand, Blight? " That last part was said with such venom in her voice that Lucia felt a little proud, she hadn't used that tone since she beat up that fool Dash in ninth grade.

The green-eyed woman stared at her all the time with an incredulous expression, as if no one had faced her like this in her entire life, or at least she was still until she highlighted her last name, which was when her eyes turned on fire. "Don't you dare call me that!" she yelled back, holding Lucia by the collar of her military jacket with such force that she made her kneel “Never you dare refer to me by that name! You don't have the right to call me that! Understand?!" Now it was Lucia who was in shock that someone answered her like this, but she could not answer because at that moment Amelia released her and stomped on her way to the front door. Hooty must have heard her because the door immediately opened for her to pass through.

Lucia stayed on the ground staring into space for a few seconds, yes, this sensation in her chest was because someone had challenged her, it was the flare of competition spreading through her chest, it was nothing else. It couldn't be anything else, right? She stayed like that until Salix started snapping her fingers in front of her face. "Hey, Noceda, if Amelia killed you that easily with just words then maybe I picked the wrong partner."

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After the delicious dinner, the 5 teenagers agreed to go prepare to spend the night on a surveillance mission. Gus didn't have to make any excuses because his father had already left, Willow and Wionna would tell their dad’s that they would spend the night at Gus's house to keep him company, there were only Noceda left, which was the most complicated part of the plan because It was necessary for Lucia not to find out that they were there, which was difficult when they had to be in the same place practically behind the older girl's back. Deciding that they would come up with something, both sisters headed for the elevator, on the way pretending they did not see the previously mentioned Lucia Noceda leaning on one of the couches in the main room and with her beanie in her hands, pressing it against her chest, looking up at the ceiling like that time Ricky Jones confess to her at school and she spent the whole day making her best impression of Sleeping Beauty. Giggling, Luz and Lucille entered the main elevator, they were about to press the button for the fifth floor, but the second floor lit up first, indicating that someone called it there.

When they were near the second floor, they could hear a conversation "Are you sure we should do this?" said a shy and almost imperceptible voice.

“Amelia took my elevator card and yours got lost again, so the best we can do is stay with Boscha until Amelia decides to go back or Ed & Em stop ignoring their phones, and with the company they have that It will be very difficult” Another voice answered, it was similar but much stronger and authoritative.

“I'm sor- It couldn't finish the sentence because at that moment the elevator doors went up loudly. In front of the two Noceda sisters stood two girls tremendously similar but different at the same time. The taller of the two had blonde hair arranged in a small bun on the top of her head showing light brown roots on her forehead, she was wearing a one-piece black dress that covered her to the knees and was separated by a silver trim at her waist, below that she had purple leggings and high-heeled ankle boots to match the dress. Black triangle-shaped earrings adorned her ears through which the loose section of her hair fell gracefully behind them. In addition to the perfectly manicured nails and the large amethyst that hung from her necklace, the most striking thing about her were her challenging eyes of a strong almost golden amber color.

The girl next to her lacked all the presence that her companion had, her hair was brown and loose to the sides covering the sides of her face and a small ponytail held by a pink bow was barely visible, she wore a dress that was almost the same as her companion, but with the sleeves up to the wrists, her leggings were dark pink, and she wore black boots that reached her shin. She wore a huge necklace with a crescent moon ornament that hung down below her chest, and her eyes were what came out of her the most because they were an extremely abnormal shade, an extremely light blue almost violet.

Both pairs stared at each other for a few seconds as if analyzing each other, until Luz broke the silence "Hello! We are the Noceda’s, we just moved in. Nice to meet you! " The eldest of her Latinas extended her hand in a friendly way offering it to whoever was willing to take it. The brunette almost instinctively hid behind the blonde girl as soon as Luz raised her voice, even if it was in a friendly tone.

After that peculiar interaction, the two pairs each stayed on their side of the elevator in a deep awkward silence, fortunately they finally reached the fifth floor and the elevator reopened. "Hey" Luz said as soon as she and Lucille got off, drawing the attention of the other pair "Maybe we did not have the best first meeting, but it is our first day here and I would like to do things well, I am Luz, and this is my younger sister Lucille" a hopeful smile was drawn on his face as he waited for an answer.

Just as the elevator doors were starting to close, the blonde girl let out a little sigh as she crossed her arms "I'm Amity, this is my sister Amber." It was a short and direct answer, and all she could say before the elevator closed and she continued her way to the 15th floor where the pair was headed. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Luz to hope that things would continue to be good for them.

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It had been a long time since midnight, Lucia had finally managed to get out of her existential crisis and she was just sitting looking towards the front door, impatient for the movers to arrive "I swear I'm going to rip that guy's head off if he doesn't show up here in the next 5 minutes”.

Salix was now the one who was resting on one of the couches, she was used to being up late but normally it was doing something more interesting than waiting for an old lost truck, perhaps she should have thought better of it before offering to accompany her associate in this task "I will hide the body, by the time they find it we will already be 6 feet underground," she said in a tone that could sound like a joke.

In the dark, behind the abandoned reception 4 heads appeared, although Gus was the most excited to discover the mysteries of the place where he lived, he was not used to passing his bedtime and had already fallen unconscious directly to the dream kingdom, his friends had had the decency to cover him with a blanked that Wionna brought so that they would not get cold. The 4 girls watched their older sisters getting more and more impatient, and each knew that no matter what happened that night, the biggest injured would be the driver of the moving truck.

Willow had brought with her a thermos full of coffee to keep the group on their toes, but when Luz tried to drink some she was stopped by Lucille "The last time you had coffee we had to bring a ladder to get you down from that tree" the younger muttered to which the other two girls barely managed to contain their laughter. There was no bad intention behind those laughs and Luz for the first time allowed herself to know that she did not believe that they were making fun of her and even allowed herself to laugh when she remembered that anecdote herself.

The calm atmosphere that had formed in the room was broken when something was heard moving between the chairs collected in a corner of the place.

Lucia immediately reacted and turned to look on alert "Why did I let Mom convince me to leave my bat in the truck instead of bringing it with me?" she thought she as she slowly moved towards the place.

Whatever was there she started running and pushing the chairs with such a fuss that Gus woke up suddenly "It's the midnight demon!" He yelled revealing their position before Lucille and Willow reached to cover her mouth.

The creature seems to have been attracted by the scream because it immediately began to run in that direction, passing between Lucia's legs and jumping over the reception bar.

Several shouts were present behind the counter in case the younger ones had not already revealed their presence, while Lucia ran to see what was happening, Salix turned on the lights "Why the hell were we waiting for the truck in the dark?"

Both adults peeked over the reception bar, catching in the act the group of 5 teenagers who were curiously looking at a ball of black hair curled up on Gus, and a second later they looked up to see all the problems that over their heads.

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The 7 were now sitting on the couches, 8 counting on the furry little friend who kept moving around the place as if he were the owner, occasionally approaching to be pet for a few seconds before continuing their way, ignoring that they were there, to be a dog had many behaviors typical of a cat such as climbing on any furniture that could and trying to throw down things.

Lucia had given everyone that "I'm not upset, I'm just disappointed" look Camila give when she caught any of her daughters doing something wrong, or at least she tried to do it because her anger was palpable. Salix on the other hand promised to not say anything to her dads because Willow had seen her leave the house and return secretly as if to owe her one. “As soon as that truck comes, everyone will accompany us directly to their homes, directly to sleep, no excuses" said the oldest Noceda while wagging her finger like a teacher reprimanding its students for doing mischief in class.

The dog approached Luz at one point, jumping on her and settling on her lap. “Hey little friend, how did you get in here? Did your owner let you out for a walk and you got lost? " Although the second option seemed the most favorable, Willow had explained before that the building prohibited having animals inside the floors, so it was unlikely. While she gently pets it Luz noticed that under that dirty and tangled hair was a necklace with a plaque with name “King huh? I think it's a more than appropriate name for someone like you.” She began to gently scratch his back, and although the dog made a noise as if he were annoyed, the joyful movement of his tail denoted his joy. And the rest of the group including the young adults let out a little chuckle.

A soft hoot was heard at the end of the dark corridor that led to the front door.

Everyone was silent to be sure they had heard correctly "Y... You won't think that- Gus couldn't finish because the hoot was heard again now a little louder. Followed by this the screeching of a large metal door opening broke the silence of the night, heavy footsteps on an equally metallic staircase began to be heard closer and closer and the younger ones ran to take cover behind the older ones who were prepared for what out of.

"Now what is it?" Lucia asked putting her arm to protect her sisters and Gus.

“If I correctly remember the things that the people of this place say, it can only be- One of the two doors that followed the guard's room and that were always locked opened, and from this came a figure that looked immense in the darkness. One that turned to the main room when noticed that the lights were on.

Large glowing spheres looked in the upper part of that shapeless mass, probably monstrous eyes with which analyzed its prey, the heavy steps that crossed the corridor only alerted more to the group that was already ready to flee as soon as their legs remembered how to move, the soft hoot that more than reassuring them only terrified them more "It's the Owl Lady!" the teenagers yelled at the same time which seemed to wake Lucia from her trance long enough to launch herself with the cry of "Noceda Chop!"

"Ouch!" A woman complained after the hit connected squarely, and the hallway lights came on.

“Are you having a tea party and you didn't invite your old friend Hooty? Hoot Hoot!" the old security guard peeked through the other door that must have been the access to his room and turned on the lights. Now without the darkness hiding her, the group got a good look at the infamous owl lady. She was a tall woman, much taller than Lucia, what they believed to be her eyes were glasses that looked like something out of a science fiction movie, they matched the lab coat and the protective equipment she used, and those heavy footsteps were due to the huge boots the woman was wearing, and what they believed to be an amorphous mass was a gigantic mass of silver hair that fell below her waist.

"Wow, you can't go out to see what all the scandal was a few minutes ago without being attacked. What has this place become?" The ironic tone in her voice left even Salix's to shame, the woman looked at the group that seemed to be more confused than anything and just let out a laugh “What's wrong kids? Have you never saw a woman go out to get fresh air? " The one who broke the silence was King, who approached the woman and barked a couple of times “Oh, King, what are you doing here again? Hooty, are you still letting him in?"

"He keeps me company at night and also it’s always cold outside to left him there, Hoot!" The old guard stuck his head back into the room and closed the door behind him.

"A... are you the owl lady?" Lucille finally managed to lead out some words from her mouth.

“The Owl La…” Finally connecting the dots, the woman started to laugh again, a loud laugh that probably reached the neighbors on the second floor because of how loud she was. Once she calmed down, continued talking “Oh, so that was what this was about, a little meeting to find out one of the gossips in this place. Indeed girl, the name is Eda Clawthorne, but you can call me the Owl Lady if you wish."

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Many could say that it was a peculiar night for everyone, the Noceda sisters did not expect to meet such eccentric, but equally friendly people on their first day in their new home, the Park sisters and Gus did not expect in one night to discover what was behind two of the tower's great mysteries, and Eda didn't expect to be attacked like this for going out on one of her night walks, at least not inside the building that had been her home all her life. "But what about the hooting that always accompanies you" asked Luz, looking askance at the older woman.

"Oh, it's this little friend", putting her hand in her huge and wild mane, she took out a small animal, a barn owl. A collective "Awww" was present as everyone watched the little animal move in Eda's hand, observing its surroundings and the new people around it. "I found him outside a while ago, I took care of him and since then he has stayed with me in the basement, he is good company, although a cheater while playing cards." The owl seemed to be offended at such accusation, since he immediately turned and flew to position himself on Lucia's beanie, which was the second tallest person in the room.

"Wait, you really live in the basement? So is it true that they have you locked up there? " Wionna questioned without taking her eyes off the little bird.

"I am not locked up anywhere girl, that is my room and my personal workshop. Who do you think keeps this place working as it should be?" she replied by crossing her arms with a proud smile.

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The sweet conversation between the group and Eda continued for a while more, asking him questions about the operation of the boiler, living in the basement and what she meant by "workshop", so many questions that in the end Eda promised to show them her workplace, not at that time, but another day. With things set down, it was at that moment that the moving truck finally arrived, and the workers were able to discharge the stuff the Noceda’s bring from their old house and take them to the fifth floor where the new one was, but not before Lucia chased with her recently recovered bat the driver for a few How many blocks, a poor fellow named Steve.

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Camila was finally returning home, the induction had been extended and it was after 3 AM when she finally got out of her car and walked to the entrance, when she tried to open it, she remembered that it was the old guard's job so that means she should put up with his peculiar way of acting again. Or that was what she expected when the door opened itself and in front of her a tall woman with pale skin and long silver hair appeared. "Hey!" She greeted her "You'd better get one of these, if you don't want Hooty to take your time asking you for his password” in her hand she had a kind of remote control with a single button.

"T... Thank you" Camila managed to say after losing herself a second on the woman odd eyes, one gold and one silver.

"You don't have cutie! You look tired today so, what do you think if another day I invite you to the bar here on the corner and we talk about how you can avoid Hooty" With that said, I winked at him while he had a big confident smile from which a big golden fang stood out and stepped aside to let her pass "Bye." Without saying more, the woman walked to the street with total confidence that nothing would happen to which Camila decided to go inside, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was beating like that for the first time in so many years.

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When Camila entered her new apartment, she was surprised not only to find her furniture already ordered, but also to 7 teenagers and 2 young adults all settled in the living room sleeping peacefully. Her heart melt when she saw that with just one day her daughters already looked happier and more peaceful than the last two years in their old home. Maybe moving had been the right choice after all, maybe this new beginning was what her family needed. "Good night, mijas" she murmured as she went to where her room was, and for the first time she allowed herself to sleep well, being sure that tomorrow would be a good day.

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King wandered carelessly through the streets of Bonesborough, no one messed with him, no one told him what he could or could not do, after all, the king of demons would not have to obey anyone. A man crossed in front of him, he was barely standing because of the large amounts of alcohol he had consumed "Get out of the way, stupid dog!" The man yelled at him and tried to kick him violently. King stepped aside and started growling at this man.

Through the abandoned streets of Bonesborough a scream was heard, and a man ran, fleeing in terror from an immense shadow that chased him a couple of streets until losing interest. King came out of the shadows again like a small dog of unrecognizable breed, wiped his paws and made a superb gesture before continuing his walk, Yes! another great victory for the king of demons.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh yeah, King is literally a demon here, you didn't see that coming, didn't you? If you want to know you know what you have to do.  
> I hope you liked this silly idea that come to my head one night while I tried to sleep.  
> And if you follow me for the Digimon AU, the next chapter its almost ready.  
> See you soon everybody,


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